Starting business from home

Hello Nan,

as far as I know the zoning laws regulate the amout of “customer
traffic” you will have and if you are allowed to make advertisements
at your house and such. It is also about other inconveniences for
your neighborhood like noise, smell and such.

I started my business at home, I still work from a studio in my
house. When I sat this up I had the same questions as you do, so I
asked my local Chamber of Commerce and a lawyer friend of mine. Both
told me that everybody can work from home, but when you live in a
residential area you are not allowed to put signs of any kind at
your door or entrance (which I wouldn’t do anyway for security
reasons), you are not allowed to have customers coming and going
(which I avoid to do anyway for security reasons; I have a P.O.Box
for my customers and when I want to meet somebody I arrange
something at a cafe or at one of “my” Galleries). You have to keep
noise in a “normal” range, meaning that you are not allowed to run
heavy machinery 8 hours a day (for example you are a carpenter and
run your circular saw several hours a day). Both my lawyer friend and
the woman from the local Chamber of Commerce told me that running a
jewelry business from home is not a problem at all if I follow the
above rules. Those rules are different in each state, in each county
and from city to city. So best is to check with your local Chamber
of Commerce and get the rules that you have to follow in your city.

I made the experience that those people are very helpful and you
shouldn’t be scared to ask. That is what they are here for. And they
want people to work and start a business!

Good luck,
Edith
Edith Schneider Jewelry
P.O.Box 52001
Palo Alto, CA 94303
@Edith_Schneider
www.edithschneider.com
(650) 813 9755